The Reality of the Music Industry for the 99%

[kopper]

Wow, check this out:

Read the story here: http://www.dangerousminds.net/comments/legendary_blues_singer_reali...

Lester Chambers, former lead singer of The Chambers Brothers, highlights the hard reality of the record company’s exploitation of its artists. Chambers sang such hits as “Time Has come Today”, “People Get Ready”, “Uptown”, “I Can’t Turn You Loose” and “Funky”, went for almost thirty years without seeing a royalty check, and has still to see the majority of payment due to him for all of his recordings.

Chambers has suffered great hardship over the years through no fault of his own, and was most recently sleeping in a rehearsal room, until Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon offered to pay his rent on a home for him and his son in 2010.

Last year, Chambers was inducted into the West Coast Blues Hall of Fame, which is an honor, but hardly full recompense for all the years of being screwed over by record companies.

I AM the former Lead Singer of a 60’s BAND. I performed before thousands at Atlanta Pop 2, Miami Pop, Newport Pop, Atlantic Pop. I did NOT squander my money on drugs or a fancy home. I went from 1967-1994 before I saw my first Royalty Check.

The Music Giants I recorded with only paid me for 7 of my Albums.

I have NEVER seen a penny in Royalties from my other 10 Albums I recorded. Our Hit Song was licensed to over 100 Films, T.V. & Commercials WITHOUT our permission. One Major TV Network used our song for a national Commercial and my payment was $625. dollars. I am now 72, trying to live on $1200 a month. Sweet Relief, a music charity is taking donations for me.

Only the 1% of Artist can afford to sue.

I AM THE 99%

The Chambers Brothers perform “The Time Has Come Today”.

Anyone know of any other sordid tales of "the music industry" like this?

[Matthew Nykodym]

Andre Williams may be not always the most frugile with his money is still working at age 76 not necessarily because he wants to, he has to. Great, yet sobering documentary done back in 2008 Agile, Mobile, Hostile.  Check it out if you haven't already.

There are also stories of people like Bruce Springteen paying medical and living expenses for Mary Wells when she was battling oral cancer. The Rolling Stones paid to bury Howlin' Wolf's lead guitarist, Hubert Sumlin, I am sure there are more stories to count of this happening to musician we know and love.  I think a lot how some of these people are getting by.

[TeenFink]

true, but this particular story isn't about not being frugal with your money, it's about artists with big success stories (chart hits like mr. chambers here) being railroaded by the music industry. hard to not be frugal with your money if you ain't got no money to be frugal with.

Matthew Nykodym said:

Andre Williams may be not always the most frugile with his money is still working at age 76 not necessarily because he wants to, he has to. Great, yet sobering documentary done back in 2008 Agile, Mobile, Hostile.  Check it out if you haven't already.

There are also stories of people like Bruce Springteen paying medical and living expenses for Mary Wells when she was battling oral cancer. The Rolling Stones paid to bury Howlin' Wolf's lead guitarist, Hubert Sumlin, I am sure there are more stories to count of this happening to musician we know and love.  I think a lot how some of these people are getting by.

[Matthew Nykodym]

I was alluding to the line in Mr. Chambers stating that "He did NOT squander his money on drugs",  and whether you want to call it squander or not Andre did use some of his earning on drugs.  Andre had a #9 on the r&b back in 1957 with Bacon Fat and wrote Shake A Tail Feather which has been covered by everbody and his dog. Andre has expressed for years that he has been under paid for his music especially that latter.

[Mark George Harrison]

Read this on Facebook a while ago, certainly not the only artist to get screwed by the industry. Rod Stewart paid Ronnie Laines medical expenses cos he had no money, most of the major artists from the 60s fought for years to get any money. Even the stones were still fighting for money in to the 90s. Didnt it take until the 90s for the Small Faces to get any money as well? Too many more to mention.

[BLACKCAT69]

According to Ian Maclagan's autobio circa 2005, the Small Faces have still not been paid any royalties to this day because they signed bad deals with Don Arden and Andrew Loog Oldham's management companies.

[Mark George Harrison]

Don Arden, now there was a man who made money, for himself! Theres a really late Gene Vincent song called 'our souls' which GV repeats faster and faster at the end to sound like arse/assholes, he then can be clearly heard to say 'how was that Mr. Arden?'

The thing with the 'industry' is that people who are in it to make music are there because thats what they love and want to do, theyre not businessmen and have no interest in that side of it, leaving them open to the sharks!

[John Battles]

That's true about "Our Souls" ...Of course , Gene is a classic example of someone who worked his balls off until he dropped , because he HAD to....
 But , he was stubborn , and refused to have his mangled leg operated on, even though it meant he might , with some therapy  , be able to walk , pretty much , like he did before his accident. He was blacklisted in The U.S. for refusing to pay Musician's Union dues , and survived mostly on earnings from European and Canadian shows , later in life. There were pockets of people in LA , The Rolling Rock crowd and such , and fans and drinking buddies like Alice Cooper and Jim Morrisson , who were all very supportive , but it was too late , the industry and his ex- wives robbed him blind. P.J . Proby even stole his clothes , right from under his nose. 
Mark George Harrison said:

Don Arden, now there was a man who made money, for himself! Theres a really late Gene Vincent song called 'our souls' which GV repeats faster and faster at the end to sound like arse/assholes, he then can be clearly heard to say 'how was that Mr. Arden?'

The thing with the 'industry' is that people who are in it to make music are there because thats what they love and want to do, theyre not businessmen and have no interest in that side of it, leaving them open to the sharks!

[John Battles]

Andre has an expression he used to use - His Son would say , "Daddy , every time things are going good , you gotta go and throw a brick at an ambulance !". In other words , he manages to land on his feet (His personal problems are well documented.) , but ends up in a deeper ditch than the ones he fell in , before. It is'nt just about money , though he's been ripped off by the best of 'em. Last time I saw Andre was at a reading from his book , "Sweets" . It was quite an affair - Bo Dudley , Miriam Linna , Dan Kroha , Cynthia Plastercaster , and John Drake from the original Amboy Dukes were all there. 'Dre WAS IN HIS GLORY . I HOPE HE CAN STAY THAT WAY.....
 
Matthew Nykodym said:

Andre Williams maybe not always the most frugile with his money is still working at age 76 not necessarily because he wants to, he has to. Great, yet sobering documentary done back in 2008 Agile, Mobile, Hostile.  Check it out if you haven't already.

There are also stories of people like Bruce Springteen paying medical and living expenses for Mary Wells when she was battling oral cancer. The Rolling Stones paid to bury Howlin' Wolf's lead guitarist, Hubert Sumlin, I am sure there are more stories to count of this happening to musician we know and love.  I think a lot how some of these people are getting by.

[antonio]

"This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by SOFA entertainment".

OMG.

[Lucas Kwong]

It's really astounding how record labels STILL think that musicians are desperate enough that they'll sign any shit contract just for the glamor of being on a label.  Recently got wind of a setup where one label required artists to pay them $15,000 dollars for the privilege of having that label do their digital distribution! 

It's exciting to live in an era where CDBaby and other outlets are making it easier for artists to handle licensing themselves, without the record company doing God knows what behind their backs.

[kopper]

SOFA Entertainment, eh? I wonder if they're related to IODA or whatever. See this previous discussion.

antonio said:

"This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by SOFA entertainment".

OMG.

[Don]

Fact is people screw each other. All classes of people. There is no one "percentage" that does it more than another.

Ever read about the lawsuit Liberty DeVitto had to have against Billy Joel?  All those albums, all those tours, and Lib was left penniless.

We like to classify this as a one group screwing another thing but in truth it is not. Its people.

Mind you there are a lot of fine people on all ends of the music biz, they're just overwhelmed by the number of scoundrels. Same, alas, is true among musicians.

One such fine person is Wolfgang Völkel at Break-A-Way Records. My work with him, altogether on line, in the creation of The Abstracts' "Hey, Let's Go  Now!" was a lesson in what the music business, or any business for that matter, could be. But that is because Wolfgang does what he does because he loves garage band music and also, I expect, because at heart he is simply a fine human being.  And the later is what is rare every where in the human gene pool.

-don